


We Were Works in Progress

by SavingAnnie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Slow Burn, im talking years baby, like the slowest burn to ever burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-02-07 13:59:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12842658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavingAnnie/pseuds/SavingAnnie
Summary: When Shiro met Keith, he was a foul mouthed thief with nothing left to lose. When Keith met Shiro, he was a carefree young pilot who went by the name of Takashi.Then they come together and things start to change a little





	1. Takashi Shirogane is (not) an officer of the LAW

It had been an unusually stressful week, so Takashi decided to request one of the Garrison standard issue vehicles and head into the nearest town for a day off. For reasons he couldn’t understand, the usual training routines he participated as a First Lieutenant of the Galaxy Garrison had increased in intensity, and whenever he turned around, superior officers he didn’t recognize seemed to be keeping a close eye on him. It was exhausting, he felt like he was a cadet again, constantly being watched and judged. He had thought things would be easier after he officially graduated, and for the past few months it had been, but now… Well it didn’t matter today, he was just going to take it easy for now.

It took over an hour to drive from the Garrison to any big town, but Takashi didn’t mind. For once, he relished the simplicity of an earth bound vehicle and was able to drive in a state of complete peace as the desert flew past him. He was even almost enjoying the endless country music that seemed to be playing on every single channel. 

By the time he got to town, it was nearly lunch time so he decided to stop at a little cafe that he’d always meant to try. During his days as a cadet, his friends were usually more interested in finding ways to sneak into the local bars than trying out cute cafes, but now that he was alone Takashi had all the time in the world. He took a small table by the window and a pretty waitress came over to take his order. She gave him a dazzling smile.

“Hi there! What can I get you?” she asked, leaning onto Takashi’s table. He smiled to himself, the uniform did funny things to people, even in a town like this where officers passed through all the time. Of course it also didn’t hurt when the guy wearing the uniform was as attractive as he was.

Takashi was just about to order when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. As a pilot, one of the things he prided himself on was his complete awareness of his surroundings, it’s what helped him come out ahead on the asteroid field syms in his cadet days. Now, he was acutely aware that on the far side of the cafe, a small figure with shaggy hair was in the process of slipping a woman’s purse off the back of her chair.

“Hey!” Takashi shouted, shooting to his feet. In his haste, he accidentally knocked into the waitress and he barely had time to issue a hasty apology to her before rushing across the restaurant. The shaggy haired boy heard him yell and abandoned all attempts at stealth, snatching the purse, stuffing it into his bag, and tearing out of the cafe. 

“Shoot.” Takashi swore, and took off after him. At first he wasn’t sure which way the thief had gone, but down the street a woman shrieked, catching his attention just in time to see the shaggy haired boy careen into a stroller before rounding the corner. He pounded after him, yelling a quick apology on the thief's behalf to the frazzled mother. The guy was small but unbelievably fast; there was no way he should have been able to outrun a newly minted military officer, but somehow he was maintaining a solid lead. Just when he thought he might be gaining ground, the thief took a sharp turn down a side street. He tried his best to follow, but his sheer size made it difficult to make the turn, and the force of his momentum sent him slamming into the side of a building, giving the thief another lead.

After a solid five minute chase though, the thief made a mistake. The next time he tried to escape by bolting down a side street, he came up on an alleyway that dead ended in a nine foot wooden fence. Relieved, Takashi slowed to a jog and put on his most commanding military officer voice.

“Give me the purse bud.”

“Fuck you.” the thief spat and swung his heel into Takashi’s groin. 

_Bad move _, Takashi thought easily blocking the strike and reaching out to grab the thief’s arm, but the kid wasn’t there any more. Suddenly his world turned upside down as his feet were swept out from under him; if it hadn’t been for years of training, he would have slammed straight into the pavement. Instead, he caught himself half way down and bounced back to his feet in time to catch the thief’s foot as he tried to jump the fence. He lashed out, but Takashi was able to drag him back to ground. He nearly got him into a headlock but the guy broke free with a well aimed jab to the kidneys.__

__On equal footing once again, they watched each other warily, hands poised to defend. It was a mistake to underestimate his opponent. The guy was small but his strikes were precise and perfectly placed; he was impossibly quick and seemed to know exactly what Takashi was thinking. He was sure that with his size advantage, training, and patience he’d tire the reckless thief out soon enough, but it was probably going to hurt._ _

__The next time the thief struck out at him, Takashi let it hit and used the opening in the boy’s defenses to get his own, stronger punch in. But even then the thief was ready, he dodged the head shot and spun around so he was no longer the one with his back to the wall. It was impossible not to feel a little bit awed by the way this little guy was very nearly kicking his butt. Emphasis on nearly._ _

__It took a few more tries, but the thief couldn’t dodge his punches forever. All it took was one solidly landed swing and the shaggy haired boy was down. The thief had given everything he had and he could barely stand when Takashi dragged him back to his feet._ _

__“Anything broken?” He asked, but the guy just looked at him like he was crazy. “I’ll take that as a no then. Come on, let’s go.”_ _

__“Where… are we…. going?” The thief asked, still winded from the knockout blow to his chest._ _

__“To return the purse you stole.”_ _

__“Oh fuck that… she’s probably… bought another one already.” The shaggy haired boy wheezed._ _

__“Oh yeah? Why do you say that?” Takashi asked, still shuffling the thief along in an awkwardly tight side embrace._ _

__“Local oil guy’s wife… owns the… big ass oil fields north of here?”_ _

__“What on earth were you doing messing with those kinds of people if you knew who she was?” Takashi stopped and swung the smaller guy around to face him. The thief stared back at him with hard violet eyes._ _

__“Like I said, she can… afford shit. All I was gonna do was… slip $50 out of her bag. She wouldn’t have even noticed.”_ _

__“Why so much trouble for $50?” Takashi asked_ _

__“Just call the cops already” The thief said coldly “I don’t need to be interrogated twice.”_ _

__Takashi studied the boy, he was young, definitely a teenager, although it was hard for him to place his exact age. The thing was, the guy hadn’t moved like any teenager he had ever met, even he hadn’t been that advanced in high school and he’d taken martial arts classes all of his life. And If the guy was really willing to risk everything to steal $50 from the most powerful family in town, then it was highly unlikely anyone was paying for him to go to martial arts classes. Somehow, _somehow _, this guy was flying on pure instinct and street experience alone. You didn’t meet people like that everyday.___ _

____“You know what, you’re right, you don’t need to be interrogated twice today.” Takashi said._ _ _ _

____“What do you mean?” The thief asked, wary._ _ _ _

____“Well I am an officer of sorts, Lieutenant technically, Lieutenant Shirogane, but I think it would suffice if you just came with me.”_ _ _ _

____“What? But you’re military! Where are you taking me?” The shaggy haired teen tried to tug out of his grasp but Takashi kept a light grip._ _ _ _

____“It’s ok! I’m taking you home! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said, but the thief was still tense._ _ _ _

____“Ok look, here” Takashi sighed “I’ll give you my phone to hold onto, if you think I’m kidnapping you or whatever you can call the police. I know you probably won’t want to because of this,” he lifted up the backpack with the stolen purse in it “but it’s your choice.”_ _ _ _

____He stared at Takashi for a second, eyes burning, then held out his hand for the phone._ _ _ _

____“Great! My car’s down the next block, do you think you can walk by yourself without running off with my phone?” Takashi asked._ _ _ _

____The thief nodded stiffly, wrenching his arm free. Then, as promised, he walked with him all the way to the car._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____\--------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____The ride was mostly quiet, the only breaks in silence being the thief’s occasional directions as they drove towards his home. They finally stopped in front of a worn down apartment complex on the edge of town, and suddenly it made sense to Takashi why someone like the thief might be so desperate for $50._ _ _ _

____“Are your parents home?” Takashi asked, hoping to talk to someone about the idea that began bubbling in the back of his brain on the drive over._ _ _ _

____“My foster mom might be, but I’m going to tell you right now that she won’t give a shit about me stealing someone's. She’ll probably be pissed that I didn’t get away with it.”_ _ _ _

____“Oh, well that’s ok then, I don’t think I need to talk to her.” Takashi said, handing the teen a piece of paper and a pen “Listen I need you to write down your name and apartment number so I can get in contact with you again.”_ _ _ _

____“Why?” the thief asked, suspicious._ _ _ _

____“So I can check up on you- and I’m not sure yet, but I think I might be able to help me out.”_ _ _ _

____“Help me out? Why on earth would you do that?” the teen asked, and honestly, Takashi didn’t know. Something had just clicked for him, and if he could pull it off, he would be seeing a lot more of this boy very soon._ _ _ _

____“Just… Write down your info,” he said “I’ll be in touch.”_ _ _ _

____Still looking confused, the thief scribbled onto the sheet of paper, grabbed his backpack, and then turned to leave without saying another word. Takashi waited until the teen entered the building before unfolding the paper he left on the seat._ _ _ _

_____Keith Kogane_ , he thought to himself, if all this works out I think you could be one of the greatest deep space pilots the Garrison has ever seen.__ _ _


	2. Keith Kogane is a documentary enthusiast

The next day, Takashi bolstered up the courage he needed, and headed to Iverson’s office to ask him about the possibility of taking Keith on as a cadet.

“Shirogane, what can I do for you today?” Iverson asked, returning Takashi’s salute as he walked into the room.

“I was wondering, Sir, does the garrison still run its scholarship program for flight school?” He asked.

“Certainly, in fact we have two cadets coming in on partial scholarship for this upcoming term, why do you ask?”

“Well I was wondering if I could suggest a potential… candidate of sorts” 

“Shirogane I hope this is not some sort of personal favor, I expected better of you than to request something like that.” Iverson frowned at his protege  
.  
“No, Sir! Definitely not personal, I’ve really only met the guy once.” Takashi admitted.

“Then what makes you so certain he would work well in our program?”

Takashi paused and tried to come up with a plausible explanation that wouldn’t involve Keith’s criminal tendencies.

“Its- well- I’ve seen him spar sir. You wouldn’t believe how he moves, his reflexes are uncanny and his ability to predict his opponent's next move- I’ve never seen anything like it. I believe he’d make a natural pilot.”

Iverson studied him, folding his hands on his desk and piercing Takashi with his all knowing iron eyes. It had been a over a year since he had graduated and Iverson still scared the bejeezus out of him.

“You mentioned the scholarship program.” Iverson said

“Yes, sir. Keith, er- the potential candidate lives in the foster system, he wouldn’t be able to pay for flight school.” Takashi explained

“He’d need a full scholarship?” Iverson asked, making him gulp.

“Yes, sir.”

“You are requesting that I extend a full scholarship to a boy who you’ve seen fight once and who doesn’t appear to have any other credentials?”

“Uh- yes, Sir” Takashi had known it was a long shot, but hearing Iverson say it like that made it sound crazy. It was crazy! The guy had tried to rob somebody and here he was trying to get him admitted to the world’s premier space exploration program, something he had worked all his life to achieve. It made no sense at all except… Takashi had a feeling.

“Well that must have been one damn good fight. Have him come in for testing next week.” 

Takashi balked at Iverson’s sudden response, “I’m sorry sir?” 

“You heard me, Lieutenant, bring him next week and we’ll see how he does on the simulator. Also have him bring his school records for the academic department to look over.”

“I-yes- thank you sir! He’ll be there!” Takashi stuttered, throwing Iverson a hasty salute then hurrying out of his office before he could change his mind. He wasn’t sure how, but he’d done it! There was only one thing that nagged at him as he strode glowing down the halls: if this Keith guy turned out to be some kind of high school dropout as well as a thief, he was going to have some serious explaining to do.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The next morning Takashi drove to out to the apartment block where he’d dropped Keith off on monday. A part of him was worried his thief didn’t live here at all, that he’d tricked him by slipping into a friend’s apartment. But when Takashi walked up to the nondescript grey building and buzzed for the apartment number the boy had given him, the door miraculously opened. 

The complex wasn’t in much better shape than it looked from outside; there was no elevator and the stairs creaked with age as Takashi made his way up to the fourth floor. What looked like mold seemed to be growing on the walls and he could hear someone yelling from behind the closed doors of the apartments he passed. Anxiety began to pool in his stomach and he unconsciously balled his left hand into a fist; if this really was where Keith lived, Takashi was starting to understand how the guy got mixed up in the wrong side of the law.

According to the slip of paper, Keith lived in the last apartment at the end of the hallway. Takashi hesitated for a second, then knocked, crossing his fingers that this was the right place. Inside, he heard an old woman shout “Door!” then after a moment, someone scuffled up and undid the lock. It was Keith.

“Oh, you.” He said, his body blocking the cracked open door, chain still in place. His eyes had a wary glint to them, but he also looked surprised, like he couldn’t believe Takashi had actually come back like he said he would.

“Hello Keith… can I come in?” Takashi asked. Instead of getting a response, the door was closed in his face, and for a second Takashi was afraid that was the last he’d see of Keith, but the boy was merely undoing chain. The door swung open and he stepped into the little apartment. He stood there in awkward silence as the younger boy stared him down, the only sound coming from a tv playing a shitty afternoon soap opera in another room.

“What do you want?” Keith asked, arms folded.

“I told you I’d come check up on you.”

“Yeah, okay, but what do you want?”

“Who says I have to want something? Maybe I just felt obligated to make sure you weren’t robbing any more old ladies.” Takashi retorted which made Keith scoff.

“Sure. Well in that case I guess you can leave. I officially haven’t robbed any old rich guys’ wives since you last saw me three days ago.” Keith looked pointedly at the door, as if waiting for Takashi to show himself out.

“Wait, no” Takashi said, earning himself a ‘I-told-you-so’ smirk from Keith “It’s not about something I want, not really. Its an opportunity. For you.”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, stiff with distrust.

“Well I told you I’m from the Garrison, right? I just graduated as a deep space pilot, top of my class actually, and well, I know what it takes. I can tell when someone has the right instincts it takes to fly.” Takashi watched the way Keith’s expression shifted ever so slightly when he mentioned flying, although he quickly steeled over again.

“What’s your point?” Keith asked.

“My point is… I think you have it. Those instincts.”

“How the fuck would you know? You even don’t know me.”

“No,” Takashi said slowly, ignoring the profanity “but I fought you. Your reflexes, your resourcefulness, your quick thinking; those are all things that would make you an excellent pilot. I talked to my superior officer and he agreed to let you get tested, you could even stand to get a scholarship.”

“Woah hold on, who says I even want to join your shitty space academy?” He spit out the words with venom but Takashi had seen the way his eyes had widened when he mentioned flying. Keith was interested but he didn’t want to show it, probably didn’t even want to admit it to himself.

“Keith, I know this is kind of coming from nowhere-”

“Yeah, no kidding” Keith interrupted, “You expect me to believe that because I almost beat you up, you’re now offering me a free ride to some fancy flying school? I don’t buy it.”

Takashi sighed, how was he supposed to tell the guy it didn’t really make sense to him either? All he knew was that it felt right, that he was meant to find him, that Keith was meant to fly. 

“You just... have to trust me.” Takashi said at last.

“Trust you? The first time we met it was because you chased me down and kicked my ass. I can’t even remember your name! It’s like, Shiro-something-or-other? See? I don’t know!”

“Keith-”

“How do I know you’re not trying to kidnap me for one of your creepy labs where they’ll strap me down to a table and do experiments on me and shit?”

“Keith oh my god- that’s not-” Takashi said, stifling a laugh

“Yeah, I’ve seen the documentaries! I know the kind of crap you guys keep hidden in there! I know about the alien experiments!”

He lost it. It couldn’t be helped, the guy looked so damn serious. Tears rolled out of his eyes as he clutched the chair he was standing next to and roared with laughter. From the adjacent bedroom, the old woman shouted at them to quiet the fuck down, and Keith yelled back at her, and Takashi just laughed harder.

“You’re a- you’re a conspiracy theorist.” Takashi wheezed

“Shutup, its serious” Keith growled, shooting daggers at him.

“Oh my god do you have one of those tin foil hats to protect yourself from the government’s mind control beams?”

“I told you to shut the fuck up!”

“Keith” Takashi said, sobering up “If I promise you, really promise you, that no one is going to try to dissect you or probe you or whatever, will you consider coming in to get flight tested?”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I came back didn’t I? Just like I told you I would.” He said.

“Yeah…” Keith seemed caught in quiet thought so Takashi located a piece of paper and pencil and wrote down his information, handing it to the other boy.

“Here, take this, it’s my phone number and a list of documents you’re gonna need to get from your school if you want to get tested, uh-” Takashi paused, “you do go to school right?”

“Of course I go to school.” Keith snapped, snatching the paper from his hand. He supposed that was a start.

“Ok so your test is scheduled for next week, if you don’t want to do it, just call me and I’ll cancel.”

“No, I want-” Keith started, “...Yeah ok. I’ll let you know.” He stuffed the paper in his pocket and followed Takashi to the door, awkwardly swinging it open.

“Thanks, Shiro” Keith said. Takashi was about to correct him but thought better of it, if he saw the guy next week, he could tell him, but if he decided not to go in for the test… well then it wouldn’t matter anyway.

“Course, remember, one week from now.” Takashi said and Keith nodded, closing the door.

Now the only thing to do was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My finals are next week and there is no universe in which I should be wasting time on this right now but? Here I am? Oh boy.


	3. Takashi Shirogane starts a career in motivational speaking

The next week seemed to drag on forever. Between the all of the extra training exercises he was getting called in for and waiting to see if Keith would call and cancel his enrollment screening, Takashi was more than a little strained. In retrospect, it probably would have been less nerve wracking to get the guy’s final answer when he went to go visit, but forcing an answer out of him on the spot wouldn’t have been fair.

The night before the test was scheduled, Takashi was getting into bed when his phone started to ring. He picked it up in dismay, on the other line someone was muttering curses under their breath.

“Keith?” Takashi guessed.

“Oh shit, Shiro- um” Keith said, flustered “It’s Keith, you uh, talked to me about the Garrison? About getting tested?”

“I remember.” Takashi laughed.

“Yeah well, I can’t do it.” Keith said and Takashi’s heart dropped.

“Are you sure?” He asked, “If this is about timing, I’m sure I can get the test reschedu-”

“It’s not the timing.” Keith cut in, “It’s… It’s me. I can’t waste your time. I’m sorry.”

“No! Its no problem, I promise. They test out new cadets all the time!”

“Oh yeah? And how many of them get in?” Keith asked, “Look, I know how this goes. I take the test and get my hopes up, but then you guys decide you don’t fuckin’ want me.”

“Keith…” Takashi trailed off, unsure what to say.

“Bye Shiro, thanks for trying.” Keith said.

“Wait! Keith!” Takashi shouted, but the line was already dead. In a flurry, he kicked off his sheets and started pacing back and forth in his room. This guy was _impossible_ , did he think he was being put through all of this for the fun of it? That this was good for his health? Heck no. Somehow he had to make Keith see that this is what he _needed_ , that this is what he-

“That’s it!” Takashi whispered, leaping onto his bed for his phone and tapping recently received calls.

“Yes, Shiro?” A disgruntled voice said after what felt like a million rings.

“What do _you_ want?” Takashi asked.

“What do I-”

“-You asked me that when I came to visit you at your apartment too, didn’t you? I sort of brushed you off, but you’re right, everybody wants something. I want a ship and a crew and a mission! And-” Takashi said breathlessly “I want you. here. at the Garrison. You’re worried that you’ll be rejected, but I know how these people think, heck, I am one of those people! They’re going to see exactly what I see in you: potential.” Takashi paused to make sure Keith was still following him.  
“Don’t worry about them,” He said softly, “the only person you need to think about right now, is you. So Keith… What do you want?”

There was a moment of silence where he was afraid that Keith had hung up again, but then there was a small sigh on the other end of the phone.

“This is crazy.” Keith said.

“Who cares?”

“I want…” Keith gulped, “I want to fly.”

“So come fly.” Takashi grinned.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Takashi hadn’t been able to request enough time off to both pick up Keith and help administer his admission test, so another officer was chosen to drive into town. Yesterday an unfamiliar face might have scared him off, but now that he was sure of what he wanted, there probably wasn’t a thing in the world that could keep him from seeing it through.  
When the Jeep finally pulled into the gates, Takashi was there to greet him.

“Excited?” He asked after exchanging a quick salute with the driver.

“No.” Keith scowled, but Takashi could tell he was lying. His dark violet eyes were wide as he drank in the bustling compound, and his fingers tapped out a fluttering rhythm on his pant legs.

“Sooooo,” Takashi said as they made their way towards the simulator annex, “see any aliens yet?”

Keith glared at him and gritted his teeth. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Hey now,” Takashi said, shit eating grin plastered on his face “that’s no way to speak to your superior officer.”

“Oh you’re not my superior officer yet, go to hell.” Keith said.

Takashi was pleased to see that the banter had eased the tight stretch in Keith’s shoulders, so by the time they made it indoors, he almost seemed calm.

“Ah, Lieutenant Shirogane,” Commander Iverson said, turning around from his conversation with two other officers. “And this must be your prospective cadet. I am Commander Iverson.”

“Keith.” He grunted. Takashi nudged him.

“Ah- Keith Kogane… Sir.” He said, arms stiff and awkward at his side.

“Very good, we’ll start with the standard logic tests and then return back here for the simulator. Now if you’ll hand the lieutenant your documents and follow me-” said Iverson, turning without pause down the hallway. Keith barely had time to shoot Takashi a look of panic before shoving the school papers into his hands and hurrying to catch up. He looked very funny scurrying after Iverson: just a pair of skinny jeans and a shaggy mullet bobbing in and out of a stream of orderly grey and orange uniforms.

Settling against the wall, Takashi started flipping through the documents he’d been given. As it turned out Keith was a pretty good student. Of course the academic department would have their say about it later, but the English and history grades looked passable and he seemed to excel in math and science (which was all the Garrison really cared about anyway). Looking over the full report, the only real issue that stood out was Keith’s apparent issues with authority, although that hardly surprised him. The one thing he didn’t see was any clues as to how the guy learned how to fight. No wrestling team, no after school taekwondo, no extracurriculars at all actually. Keith had quite the collection of detentions from mouthing off to teachers, but as far as he could tell there wasn’t a single fight in the whole record.

Sighing, Takashi wandered off to go file the papers with the academic office. By the time he’d muddled through the endless application forms and made his way back to the sim annex, Keith was finishing up the first round flight tests.

“Sir! How’d he do?” Takashi asked, saluting.

Iverson gave him a sidelong glance, “Lieutenant Shirogane…You know I have great hopes for you and have come to respect your judgement, but I must say in this matter I was fully prepared to see you proved wrong.”

Takashi felt his heart plummet.

“However,” Iverson continued “I’m finding myself to be pleasantly surprised. I expect with some extra training your recruit will fit in quite adequately with the upcoming class.”

“Sir?” Takashi asked, stunned but glowing. Iverson rolled his eyes.

“Try not to look too surprised, Lieutenant. If you’re ever going to advance in the chain of command you need to learn that leaders should be perceived as decision makers, not gamblers. When something goes our way, it is because that is how we planned it, understood?”

“Yes sir!” He said, saluting as Commander Iverson and his retinue peeled away, too much time already spent focusing on a single potential recruit. As soon as they turned the corner, Takashi broke into a wide grin and swung around the railing to where Keith would be exiting the pod, unable to contain himself. But the simulator door remained closed.

“Keith!” he shouted, banging on the metal siding “You can come out now that the test is done.” There was no response. Frustrated, Takashi jogged to the observation deck and pulled up the live feed from inside the simulator. On the screen he could see Keith seated stock still in the piloting chair.

Takashi leaned into the microphone, “can you hear me Keith? Is the door stuck from the inside? I could call a mechanic to co-”

“Door’s fine” Keith’s voice came in gruff through the speakers “coming.”

A second later the port swung open and Keith climbed out, a dour expression on his face.

“You alright?” Takashi asked, brow knitted with concern. When he tried to catch his eye Keith whipped his face to the side and shrank in on himself.

“Yeah, fucking peachy.” He said, “really aced that one.”

Takashi cocked his head. “Well I mean… you did.”

“Oh come on Shiro, you can tell me that sucked, it won’t hurt my feelings.” Keith growled, turning to walk away.

“Hey! Hold on,” Takashi reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch. He suddenly realized that this was the first time he’d touched Keith since he fought him over the purse in a back alley “You did fine! Better than that actually, Iverson told me that he thought you were “adequate” which, believe me, is high praise coming from him.”

Keith turned around, “but… but I crashed.”

“Well, yeah” Takashi almost snorted “everyone crashes. If you could pass the simulator on your first go then you wouldn’t need to spend years training as a cadet in the first place. Iverson’d just hand you your graduation certificate.”

Keith still looked skeptical “Even if I hadn’t crashed it was still a fuck up job. I could have done better.”

“Keith,” Takashi said patiently “you scored just as well as everyone else in the incoming class, and most of them have been preparing for this test for years.”

“You don’t understand!” Keith said “I can do better than that shit, I _know_ I can.”

He was taken aback by the fire that had leapt into Keith’s voice. One second he’d been hunched over fighting to keep his voice disinterested and the next he’d fixed Takashi with burning violet eyes, daring him to contradict.

“Ok,” Takashi said, eyes wide “Ok, lucky for you I think you’re gonna have as many chances to have a go at that thing as you want. I mean, academics still has to go over your records... but I think you’re in Keith. I really think you’re in.”

For the first time Keith looked like he might believe him.

“Shit.” He said, shoulders drooping in relief “Just like that?”

Takashi smiled “Just like that.”

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When Takashi went to personally deliver Keith's official acceptance letter the next week, he almost thought he caught him smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> First fic here! Thanks @takeruhikari my one true editor in chief! 
> 
> oh also! Keith is 17 here and Shiro is 23. The plan is to take this thing all the way to age 20 and 26, but we shall see what the writing gods have in store for me!


End file.
